China is bringing it on. The country has unveiled broad new curbs on its rare earth exports, as Beijing moves to shore up its trade war leverage ahead of a high-stakes meeting this month between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Overseas exporters of items that use even traces of certain rare earths sourced from China will now need a license, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement Thursday, citing national security grounds. Certain equipment and engineering technology will also be subject to controls, according to a separate release.

While it’s unclear how Beijing plans to enforce the sweeping rules, they mark an escalation in China’s campaign to wield extraterritorial controls over the nation’s goods. The curbs mirror Washington’s own export regime, which bans Chinese companies from accessing cutting-edge chips and the tools to make them.

The US and Chinese presidents are preparing to sit down at a summit in South Korea to hammer out a trade deal between the world’s biggest economies. Beijing is dangling a huge investment package in talks, people familiar with the matter previously said, as well as showing its trade cudgels. —Stephanie Phang

What You Need to Know Today

Meanwhile, Trump was celebrating a victory elsewhere. Israel and Hamas have agreed to terms for the release of all hostages held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza, a major breakthrough in the US- and Qatari-brokered negotiations to end their two-year war. “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump said in a social media post. All 48 hostages held in Gaza — 20 of which Israel believes are alive — will be freed. He later told Fox News the captives will “probably” be released on Monday.

The US has approved several billion dollars worth of Nvidia chip exports to the United Arab Emirates, an initial step in implementing a controversial deal that could serve as a blueprint for American AI statecraft. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security recently issued the Nvidia export licenses under the terms of a bilateral AI agreement hashed out in May, according to people familiar with the matter. That approval came after the UAE made concrete plans for a reciprocal amount of investment on American soil, a US official said. 

HSBC proposed taking its troubled Hong Kong subsidiary Hang Seng Bank private in a deal that values the lender at $37 billion. London-based HSBC, which owns about 63% of Hang Seng, will spend around $14 billion buying the shares it doesn’t already hold. The bank said it will continue to target a dividend payout ratio of 50% for 2025. CEO Georges Elhedery said the purchase “delivers greater shareholder value than buybacks.” HSBC shares plunged while Hang Seng Bank’s surged. Read Bloomberg Opinion columnist Shuli Ren’s take here. 

A Hang Seng Bank branch in Hong Kong. Photographer: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing reported double-digit revenue and profit growth in North America in the current fiscal year, as its US expansion defied tariff volatility sparked by Trump earlier this year. That performance led robust international gains across Europe, Southeast Asia and South Korea, helping offset a continued slump in China — long Fast Retailing’s largest overseas market — where consumer demand has remained weak since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Case in point, Porsche’s sales in China fell 21% during the third quarter, as luxury demand in the country remains weak and local manufacturers dominate on electric vehicles. The drop held back the 911 maker’s global shipments, which declined 5.7% to just over 66,000 vehicles in the period. Mercedes-Benz and BMW also reported waning deliveries in China this week, highlighting the troubles of Germany’s export-focused auto industry.

Central banks are increasingly focused on supporting their economies. The Philippine central bank unexpectedly cut the benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, warning the economic outlook has deteriorated as protests over alleged government graft hit confidence. Separately, the Bank of Thailand will likely keep monetary policy loose through next year, a deputy governor told Bloomberg News, given the country’s weak economy and the risk of further global shocks.

India’s central bank has ramped up its interventions in offshore currency markets to defend the beleaguered rupee, according to people familiar with the development. The Reserve Bank of India has built up short dollar positions of at least $15 billion in the non-deliverable forwards market over the past two to three weeks, the people said. 

What You’ll Need to Know Tomorrow

For Your Commute

More on football star Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently became the first billionaire player. Or rather, his less visible wealth manager. Miguel Marques, 52, is a discreet but pivotal figure in tending to Ronaldo’s immense fortune. Operating from a Lisbon office above the Louis Vuitton flagship store on swanky Avenida da Liberdade, the Portuguese private banker helps the footballer deploy and protect his estimated $1.4 billion net worth.

Cristiano Ronaldo Photographer: Octavio Passos/Getty Images Europe

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